Back From The Stars
by toxic-dreamer-2
Summary: Just sitting at the table with his parents for dinner sounded like the best thing in the world. It sounded so...normal. He wanted that, he realized suddenly, he wanted just to feel normal again.


**It's been a long time since I've written anything so...bare with me.**

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He was finally back on earth, the ground beneath his feet, the sky above his head, and it was such a wonderful feeling that at first all he could do was just marvel at everything; the crowd of people, the music, the ocean,...Sadie.

"I'm glad you're back."

Sadie's eyes looked suddenly misty, her tone subdued and serious as if it had truly sunk in that he was _here_.

He smiled down at her, small and sincere, and despite everything that had changed, this was still so familiar.

"Yeah, me too."

There was so much more he wanted to say to her, his mind a jumble of thoughts, but just as he opened his mouth to give voice to them Sadie gasped.

"Oh Lars, your parents! They'll be so excited to see you!"

For a moment Lars was sure his heart had sped up to a normal pace, his eyes widening.

"M-my parents."

His eyes darted around the crowd, scanning for the familiar faces. It looked like everyone in Beach City was there so surely...but they hadn't come to greet him when he got off the ship. Why wouldn't they...

Something in his expression must have given away his sudden insecurity because Sadie's hand came up to gently grip his arm.

"They aren't here."

His eyes met hers questioningly, and Sadie gave him a small sad smile in return.

"They've been so worried about you," she informed him gently.

Worried. Of course.

Guilt gripped his heart as he thought about them both at home, worrying and wondering when he'd return or if he was okay. Of course, his parents would not be out at a concert celebrating.

"I...I need to go."

Sadie gave his arm one last reassuring squeeze as she nodded in understanding, and Lars barely had the presence of mind to stutter out an "I'll call you later" before he was running in the direction of his house, cape billowing behind him dramatically.

Lars had never run so fast in his life, and he'd done his fair share of running; From robonoids, from homeworld, from Emerald, and that had only been in the last month or so. Surely he had broken a record because in what felt like no time at all he was standing in front of the door to his house.

He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, breathing heavily despite his still deceptively slow pulse, and walked inside.

The plain, empty living room that greeted him would have felt anticlimactic to anyone else, but he let out a shaky laugh at how achingly familiar it was. The same as before he left...even if he wasn't.

"Honey, is that you?"

His mother's casual voice drifted from the kitchen and he was certain from her tone that she was not expecting him, but his father instead.

"I thought you-"

Her voice stopped abruptly as she came to stand within the doorway, eyes wide in shock. She brought shaky hands up to cover her mouth and tears gathered behind her glasses.

His own eyes burned suddenly, but he managed a shaky grin.

"Hey, mom."

Whatever had kept his mother rooted in the doorway suddenly vanish, and Lars found himself engulfed in a hug that in the past he would have found suffocating. The stinging in his eyes finally gave way to tears and he brought his arms around his mother and held on just as tightly.

"Oh Laramie," she sobbed, shoulders shaking now, hands clutching desperately in the fabric of his cape. "Your father and I..we...I thought-"

"It's okay, Mom." He tried to reassure her, even as his own heart twisted in guilt. "Please don't cry."

He rubbed her back with his gloved hands to soothe her distress and slowly her sobs turned to sniffles. After what felt like an eternity his mother pulled back, studying him with teary eyes.

Lars felt suddenly, inexplicably, nervous. He knew he looked different than how she remembered (had Steven even told them that he was pink?).

She brought a hand up to lay against the right side of his face, her thumb gently gliding over the scar under his eye.

"Oh sweetie," she whispered, her voice so tremendously concerned. "What happened to you?"

"I, uh..."

The sound of the door opening behind him drew both their attention, and much like his mom before, his dad stood frozen in the doorway.

"You're home." His dads' voice was hushed and almost disbelieving.

The suitcase he'd been holding fell from loose fingers to the floor and before Lars could so much as offer up a smile, his dad had rushed forward and hugged him as well.

The force of his impact almost sent Lars off-balance, but he stood his ground, returning the embrace with equal gusto. His dad, being so much shorter than him, practically had his head burrowed into Lars's chest.

"You're home!" He repeated with more enthusiasm, letting out a laugh that teetered on the edge of crying.

"Yeah, dad." Lars tried to reassure him, although his voice came out shaky. "I'm back."

They hugged for another moment before his dad pulled away, hands braced on Lars's shoulders.

"And you're pink!" He exclaimed as if he'd only just taken notice.

Lars laughed even as he brought a hand up to wipe away tears. When did he turn into such a sap?

"Heh, yeah." He smiled nervously. "It's, um, kinda a long story."

And not one he particularly wanted to tell either.

His parents exchanged a brief look, and Lars started to think that maybe Steven had told them at least some of the reason behind his new appearance.

"let's not worry about that now." his mom spoke up, surprising him.

"R-really?"

She smiled gently at him.

"We're just so glad your home, sweetie."

"We've missed you." His dad added.

"I..I missed you guys too."

He had, he really had. Now more than ever Lars realized how much he had taken them for granted. They were always so kind, always so supportive and understanding and ...and he'd been such a failure as a son. He'd been rude, and ungrateful, and disrespectful and..and..

"I...I'm so sorry." he choked out, throat suddenly feeling clogged. "I'm sorry."

His parents sported matching expressions of confusion and concern.

"Sweetie, it's okay." his mother soothed, stepping forward to cup his face again. "What happened wasn't your fault."

"Your mother's right, son."

They didn't even realize what he was apologizing for.

"That's not what I'm sorry for," he stated, bringing his gloved hand up to lay over hers. "I'm sorry that...that I was such a lousy son before."

His parents looked shocked at his words.

"Son that's not-"

"It's true." he interrupted his dad, eyes cast to floor in shame as he pulled away from his mothers' touch. "You guys are like...like the best parents anyone could ask for and I...I just ...ugh, I was such a _jerk._"

He somehow found the courage to look up at them.

"But I promise I'm going to do better." he declared, suddenly and fiercely determined. "I swear I'll be the kind of son you can be proud of."

"Laramie..."

His mother stepped forward to embrace him once more and his father joined in. Lars had never had so many hugs in one day before and honestly...he'd never felt like he needed them more.

"We're already proud of you, son."

His father's words brought tears to his eyes once again.

"It doesn't matter what you do, or say, or even what color you change in to." his mother went on. "We've always been proud, and we'll always _be_ proud."

Tears streamed down his pink cheeks and he suddenly started sobbing, letting his weight fall forward until he was on his knees with both his parents still surrounding him with their arms.

"We love you, Lars."

"L-love you guys too."

He sniffed and pulled away, wiping furiously at the tears on his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Jesus, I'm a mess," he said, letting out a watery laugh. "Promise you won't tell anyone I cried like a freaking baby."

When he looked back up at his parents he was surprised to see tear-stained faces looking back, soft smiles on their faces.

"Your secrets safe with us," his dad promised.

"How about we all get off the floor and...and have dinner together." His mother suggested, getting to her feet.

"Dinner?"

Lars had to think back to when he'd last eaten, or even when he'd last felt hungry at all. His belly hadn't growled once since...since he'd turned pink. In space, he'd hardly thought about food at all.

His father's face lit up.

"What a wonderful idea." he grinned as he pulled himself and Lars to their feet, "How's that sound to you, son?"

"You must be starving." his mother said, "I can fix all your favorites."

Lars grinned.

"It sounds great."

And it really did. Even if he didn't feel hungry, even if he didn't need to eat. Just sitting at the table with his parents for dinner sounded like the best thing in the world. It sounded so...normal. He wanted that, he realized suddenly, he wanted just to feel normal again.

"But only if you let me help you cook."

"Deal." His mother beamed, "now go take those gloves off and wash your hands young man, and no capes at the table."

Lars laughed.

He was home.

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**Okay, so my plan was to do a bunch of drabbles with Lars dealing with being back home and coming to terms with the fact that he's not a normal human any more as well as just him interacting with other people.**

**please leave and review and let me know if you'd be interested in more. All feedback is appreciated. **


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